Jindal: Obama ‘played politics’ on Iraq

DES MOINES, Iowa — Bobby Jindal thinks President Barack Obama deserves blame for the worsening crisis in Iraq but agrees that the U.S. should not deploy troops into the country.

“We got here because the president played politics,” the Louisiana governor said in an interview here Saturday, after speaking to the Iowa Republican state convention. “He didn’t listen to his commanders.”

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The likely presidential candidate said the problems in Iraq may destabilize the entire Middle East.

“I certainly agree that we shouldn’t be putting boots on the ground. I’m not so sure it made sense for the president to unilaterally just tell our enemies that,” he said. “Given where we are today, there are ways short of boots on the ground – whether its air support or other support – to stop the terrorists from recapturing territory where America spilled a lot of blood and spent a lot of treasure.”

Jindal said Obama has projected weakness, which he said will continue to haunt the United States.

“Many of these seeds were sown based on our response or failed response in Syria,” he said. “It shouldn’t be a surprise, and it won’t be the last time … The president’s created the environment we’re in today. I worry about the consequences. I worry about what the Iranian takeaway is.”

The governor argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin felt emboldened to take Crimea from Ukraine because of Obama’s foreign policy.

“This goes back to 2009 when we withdrew the missile interceptors out of Poland [and] when we didn’t let Georgia quickly join the NATO,” he said. “This goes back to the reset with Russia … to drawing the line in the sand that had no consequence … to the response to what happened to the embassy in Libya.”

On the home front, Jindal said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s loss in Virginia this week should be a wake-up call for incumbents in both parties.

“Bigger picture, there’s an intense, incredible frustration with Washington,” he said. “They keep being told we’re just going to make incremental changes … and they’re frustrated with that.”

Jindal spoke at a Friday night fundraiser for the state party and delivered a speech Saturday afternoon to the full convention of about 1,400 delegates. He got loud cheers at both events for recounting his effort to defend the stars of “Duck Dynasty” as part of a broader argument about the importance of religious liberty.

The questions at the Friday night event reflected the conservative bent of the activists. The first came from a woman who said the country is being destroyed by illegal immigration.

Jindal responded by attacking Obama’s border-security policies. “It is purely a lack of will,” he said.

The governor said the status quo is “a low wall and a narrow gate,” meaning it’s easy to sneak in but too hard to come legally.

“We need an immigration system with high walls and a broad gate,” he said.

The second question was about the Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of conservative groups.

“This is what happens when we elect a president who’s never run anything before,” said Jindal.

The third question came from a man who also thanked Jindal for signing new restrictions on abortion into law this week.

Jindal said he is proud to call Louisiana “the most pro-life state in America.” Then he said “tone matters” when talking about these issues.

Finally, Jindal was asked if he’ll run for president. “I’m thinking and praying about what I want to do next,” he said. “If we make the decision to do it, we’ll certainly be back here a lot.”

Afterward, Jindal spent a full hour shaking hands until the last person left. He’s coming back to the Hawkeye State in early August.